Nathaniel Guy kept his catch concealed as he waited in line for a weigh-in Saturday at the 44th annual Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo. His excitement as he moved to the front of the line, however, was much less discrete.

The 12-year-old reached the weigh-in station and unveiled a sizeable red snapper, yielding cheers and a few gasps from spectators and participants at the Grand Lagoon Yacht Club.

"We thought it was a grouper at first, the way it was fighting and how big it was," Nathaniel said.

"Once we dropped it, we basically had a hit. (The Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo) is fun, it's great to have everyone see what you caught."

The Hargreaves rodeo featured open and junior divisions for more than 20 species of fish. The two-day tournament concludes today with an awards ceremony where the winners will be announced.

The weigh-in station was smothered with excitement all evening and seemed to be contagious to junior and adult participants.

Jeremy Cox watched as his sons Easton, 8, and Zane, 5, battled and landed a king mackerel and a red snapper.

"I was just excited about letting them fish. We were lucky it was calm enough to go out on the Gulf today," Cox said.

"It took both of them to get the king. (Zane and Easton) fought it for about nine to 10 minutes."

Cox said it was the second time he and Easton had participated in the event, and it was Zane's first time.

"With so many different categories of fish, this tournament is great for the kids," Cox said.

Several adult participants recalled taking part in the tournament as a child.

Celebrating his 49th birthday and a runner-up finish in the king mackerel division, David Jolly has not missed a single Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo.

"I fished on Bill's boat the first two years of the rodeo," Jolly said. "It's always been about the kids and their excitement. It's a father-son deal, and that's the way it was designed."

Jolly fell short of winning the king mackerel Open Division by 3.5 pounds.

"It was a chore catching that king," Jolly said. "We had the boat sitting on the anchor, he ran and wrapped around the anchor. It took about 20 minutes, but we ended up landing him on the bow after all the fiasco."

As hard as the participants worked to catch fish, event chairman Chuck Haskell and a team of volunteers worked just as hard running the tournament. Not only did the volunteers work as hard as the anglers, they also seemed to have fun.

"It's sweet when you get to see kids with a big ol' smile on their faces go and hug and kiss their parents after their fish gets weighed," Haskell said.

Haskell noted that the Hargreaves rodeo and its partner, the Ronald McDonald House Charities, carried similar missions.

"(The event) puts kids first and bringing families together next, and that's the way it's always been. Ronald McDonald House is a perfect fit for the event, a home run."